Once a military jet pilot in Vietnam, the former Assistant Director became Mulder and Scully's new supervisor in "The Beginning" (6X01) when they were briefly removed from the X-files. Kersh has always been suspicious of their work and doubtful of what he refers to as alien "nonsense." At the start of Season Eight, he gets appointed to be the FBI's new Deputy Director. His first order of business in the new job is to assign Special Agent John Doggett to lead the Task Force in finding Mulder, and he threatens Scully and Skinner that any public mention of extra-terrestrials in regards to the search will lead to their swift dismissal. While his primary goal may be to save face for the FBI, Kersh may have some unknown motives in connection with those who want to hide the truth.